The latest design round came to a conclusion. The Design Department hadn't actually published a lot of groundbreaking new design projects this time. As the Larkinson Clan began to build up its mech catalog, an increasingly greater proportion of design work consisted of updating existing designs, especially the ones geared towards the mech market. Old and familiar mech lines such as the Crystal Lord, the Doom Guard and the all-popular Desolate Soldier had all proven to be profitable under different circumstances. Though there was never any certainty that adapted versions of these mech designs might still do well in the Red Ocean, the LMC at least possessed a much greater understanding of their performance, appeal and customer base. By applying the lessons the LMC learned back in the Yeina Star Cluster to the Red Ocean, Ves and many other business-oriented Larkinsons hoped that their mech company could replicate their past success! So far, the results of reintroducing old designs in newer coats were generally positive. A good mech always remained a good mech no matter where it was sold. As long as the Design Department altered the tech, material composition and other specific design factors to better fit the regional markets, the market reception was always at least decent. Models with proven formulas therefore gained new life in an entirely different galaxy with a vastly more diverse customer base. Ves always smiled when he saw mercenary outfits, security companies and even rival pioneering organizations field familiar-looking mechs such as the Doom Guard Mark II Version B and the Desolate Soldier Mark II Version B. These modernized second-class adaptations of the original designs joined the ranks of the Ferocious Piranha Mark III Version B and the Hymenoptera as the LMC's mainstay commercial offerings. Nowadays, the Living Mech Corporation raked in a monthly income that always exceeded 50,000 MTA credits! What was even better for Ves was that his ownership in the LMC was finally about to rise from 59 percent to 71 percent! His lips curled into a satisfied grin. The successful conclusion of Operation Saturday Market meant that Master Olson was willing to give back almost all of the shares that she had obtained through murky means. His former Master never contacted him directly, likely because she was afraid that any direct communication between the two might leak out, but the Larkinson Clan had already received a discrete message that Carmin Olson would eventually find a way to pass on the shares without connecting this transfer to the recent attack on Pima Prime. Ves knew exactly why the Fridaymen were so eager to please him. They did not hesitate to pass on a substantial amount of shares from a booming mech company that was only becoming more lucrative over time. "They are afraid of you." Minister Shederin Purnesse told Ves. There was no way for Ves to enforce the informal deal that he had made with the weaker coalition partners of the Friday Coalition. However, he had leverage. As long as leaked word about his meeting with Tristan Wesseling to the Gauge Dynasty, the Carnegie Group, the Vermeer Group, the Vanguard Group and the Puffer Clan would definitely get into a lot of trouble! Even if the Gauge Dynasty already guessed that its own coalition partners had stabbed it in the back, there was still a massive difference between suspicion and confirmation! This was why the people behind Tristan moved quickly to reassure and placate Ves. "It looks as if the conspirators are willing to accept a huge loss in order to buy your silence, but this transaction goes deeper than that." Minister Shederin continued to explain. "The Carnegies and company don't want to be your enemies anymore. Now that you have secretly fulfilled their mission, the relationship between us and them has undergone profound changes." "In what way, Shederin?" "Do you still consider the Friday Coalition as a whole to be our enemies?" Ves had to pause for a moment in order to form a proper answer. "I guess not. I mean, those weaker coalition partners aren't that bad. The Carnegies and the Vermeers have never done much to target us specifically, and it is clear that they don't want to generate any trouble. I'm willing to give them and their buddies a break as long as they leave me and my clan alone." Minister Shederin smiled. "The only coalition partner that we truly have a feud with is the Gauge Dynasty. The way the Friday Coalition is divided means that it is relatively easy for the other coalition partners to distance themselves from the Gaugers. Right now, the greatest concern of the conspirators is to ensure the new status quo takes hold. Returning most of the shares of the LMC to you is not just about trying to buy our silence, but also about trying to buy our goodwill." Ves scratched his head. "Okay. I can understand that, but what about the Hex Federation? We are still allies with the Hexers. We have supplied a number of powerful living mech models to the Hex Army, which its soldiers use to good effect against the Friday Colonies. If the weaker coalition partners think that a bribe is enough to stop me from increasing my influence over the Hexers, then they will be sorely disappointed." "I am sure the diplomats over there are aware of this dynamic. The Carnegies and so on don't expect you to bend over backwards for them. They just want you to go about your business and move on as much as possible." pan(da-n0vel.c)om All of this politics sounded increasingly more abstruse to Ves. Times were much simpler when he simply regarded the entire Friday Coalition as his enemy. Ves shook his head. "They don't have to worry. I am no longer thinking about this old conflict at all anymore. The Hexers can take care of themselves especially now that the Friday Colonies has taken a major hit. I'm more interested in the Trailblazer Expedition to be honest. Do you have any special news related to our current mission?" "Many developments have taken place, but none of them are relevant to us." Shederin replied. "The usual conflicts have occurred. Though it is hard for two different pioneering fleets to be able to get close to each other. Even if they do have an opportunity to start a fight with each other, they usually do not do so because there are many downsides. However, the rare fights that do take place are already starting to produce ripple effects throughout the region. Some pioneers have made a lot of gains while others have disappeared entirely. The longer this affair goes on, the more the power structure in the surrounding zones will become disarrayed." "How does that affect us directly?" Ves asked with a concerning frown. "There are many possible ways that this increased turbulence can affect us. For example, more and more feuds between different parties will form in the following weeks and months. The demand for combat mechs will rise, which means that our LMC will likely experience a further boom in business." "I take it that there are a lot of negative consequences as well." "That is correct, Ves. I do not think I need to mention the risk of making new enemies when we travel through the border region. We may be able to avoid this as long as we control our movements and show enough diplomacy during our communications. However…" "There is no way we can reason with everyone." Ves stated. "Exactly. While the presence of Patriarch Reginald and the Mars will ensure that most pioneers will not be stupid enough to seek conflict with us, there are always others that may have different ideas in mind. Currently, there are two human groups in the Red Ocean that have clear and solid motives to attack us if they can. The Gauge Dynasty is one of them, and it is unlikely that we will encounter one of their fleets in the border region considering the circumstances. It is much more likely for us to enter into a conflict with the other group." "What people are you talking about?" "I'm talking about the pioneers who are part of the power structure of the Karlach System." "Oh. Those guys." The Karlach System was both a port system as well as a rising economic hub that had become the most direct rival to the Davute System. Both of them shared many similarities, and the fact that they were located in the same zone meant that it was inevitable for them to compete for trade, wealth, territory, resources, manpower and more. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎 A lot of the pioneers who founded the colonies or became invested in their development became oddly attached to the camps associated with them. As Davute and Karlach moved closer to statehood, its current stakeholders were bound to become a part of their structures! Minister Shederin reminded Ves of an important factor. "You might not care too much about Davute, but that is not what outsiders think. They think that our clan and the alliance that we are part of have become so intertwined with Davute that we have become one of its many representatives. This creates a motive for attacking us. Any power from Karlach who is able to stumble upon us in space will be able to earn a lot of rewards and appreciation for hitting us. If there is an opportunity to deprive Davute of a talented Journeyman, a Master Mech Designer and an ace pilot, then the Karlachers will definitely be willing to pay a heavy price to wipe out our entire fleet." Ves grimaced. There was no way to avoid this risk. After all, the Larkinsons definitely conducted a lot of business in Davute. There was no way to avoid it after settling in the port system for over 5 years. The Karlachers might not be entirely wrong to assume that the Larkinsons and Golden Skullers made Davute stronger. Even so, Ves didn't really care about the rivalry between the two future colonial states. He already had his fill of stupid fights after getting involved in similar conflicts. The constant warring between the Bright Republic and the Vesia Kingdom and the centuries-old hatred between the Friday Coalition and the Hexadric Hegemony had all taught him a lot of lessons. The main one was that a lot of wars between human powers were driven by banal reasons such as pride, inertia and greed. They were different from wars between humans and aliens. At least those were productive and more essential to the survival of the entire race. Petty conflicts between human states mostly turned out to be vehicles that existed to benefit the rulers who issued all of the orders from the rear but never risked their lives at the front. Therefore, Ves had absolutely no interest in advancing Davute's interests by engaging in scraps against the powers based in Karlach. It was a pity that the latter likely wouldn't listen to reason. He sighed. "If anyone wants to fight, then we will fight as long as our chances are good. I don't think that there are many enemies that can take us on, though. We will need to put a lot of effort into our scouting operations in order to ensure we don't overtaken by powerful fleets from Karlach." "We should also maintain contact with nearby pioneers who are based in Davute." Minister Shederin suggested. "It doesn't hurt to say hello and the Davutans may be willing to provide assistance to us. Since most people have developed the mistaken impression that we have chosen a camp, we might as well take advantage of this situation when it suits our needs." Ves casually waved his hand. "You can do what you want, but I don't want this to be a permanent situation. We should travel to a different zone after we have concluded the Trailblazer Expedition and settle down in an entirely different place. Once we continue to set up additional major branches throughout the Red Ocean, it will become increasingly more clear that we are not overly attached to any single place." "That is a good idea, but it will take time and energy to change people's minds."